warhammer_age_of_sigmar_tacticsfandomcom-20200213-history
Bretonnian Tactics
'''''Why play Brettonians?''''' If you like cavalry then this is the army for you. Sadly it hasent been updated in recent years but we may yet see an element of the bretonnian army re appearing through the free people armies at some point. The general idea of the bretonnians revolves around heavy weight cavalry nobility units to dish out the damage during a charge. while using your peasant forces to absorb damage and give your cavalry chance to retreat, reform and then charge back in again. The concept of this armies tactics are realativly simple however this is not always the case with the excecution. However a well timed charge can potentially devestate whole units at a time making this army somewhat like a large cumbersome hammer in that it takes a bit of work to take the next swing but when you do you can deal some serious damage. '''''Pros''''' * While tactics are required tobring out this armies best you can still employ "basic" tactics and still potentially do well. * Massed units perform better meaning that you will not have to micromanage so many parts of your army * The simple tactical concept (Charging) is easy to remember. * Bretonnians good units (Nobility) tend to be very good * Best all round cavalry in the game * Easy to paint with a great varition of color schemes meaining you wont get bored painting them * Alot of the synergy applies to free people therefore this unit canbe easily blended with Empire units. * After all is said and done these guys are almost immune to Battleshock '''''Cons''''' * Limited unit range leaves less scope for tactical creativity. * The non nobility unitd of this army are very weak * Without making use of charges the armies strength decreases greatly '''The Units''' '''Named Characters''' '''''King Louen Leoncour (Lord on Hippogryph)''''' The headliner of the bretonnian force. While at first glance he may not appear as solid as some other top dogs he makes up for this with a number of cool abilites that turn him into a jack of all trades type commander. '''Regal Crown''': As long as he is on the field all Free people units do not take battleshock. No battleshock for any bretonnian or empire units in your army while this guy is on the field. end of story. Straight of the bat we have an awesome ability that will keep the loses you may have suffered through battleshock to naught. But remeber he has to be alive for it to have an effect. '''The Lions Shield''': Works like a knights shield granting re rolls to saves of 1 in the combat phase. but also allows him to attempt to unbind 1 spell like a wizard. This ability allow Louen to help your army against magical attacks (As limited as it may be) which is useful as it means you have a dispeling model that is nicely protected in the form of a scary knight and his scarier mount. '''The Puissant virtue:''' Re roll failed hits with his Sword if the enemy is a Hero or Monster. Once again not an over powered ability but one that makes him more effective against opposing heros and beasties '''The Ladys Champion:''' Heals D3 wounds in each hero phase. A very useful ability that makes him very hard to kill considering he already has a not inconsiderble 10 wounds hiding behind a 3+ save your opponent may have to focus alot if there attention on him to bring him down. '''Command ability - King of the realm''': this adds 1 to the hit rolls of all your nobility units if they charged that turn. On its own it seems like a mediocre ability but lets not forget that it has no limit on range and is one of the key buffs along with others that can make a charging group of knights into absolute killing machines. '''General Tactics:''' A very versatile leader able to deal with most situations to a greater or lesser degree. One that I wound reccommend fielding a your general in any game your are able to. Bare in mind however the dangers of pinning all your hopes on one character. While he is no slouch in combat he is still slightly weaker than some of the larger advesarys such as dragons and greater daemons there fore while he is strong enough that you can manouvre him round the bored with little chance that he can be KOed by anythng less than a commited attack it is in advisable to use him to spearhead any assaults without significant aid or you must just end up losing all the valuble non combat benefits shown above. '''''The Green Knight''''' A hero with decent combat characteristics who cant be permenantly killed and can fly. This unit makes a great war machine/hero hunter as he able to be summoned anywhere on the board (9" away from enemy) rather than placed and can then be re summoned every time he dies. meaning the enemy never knows where he may pop up from next. '''Ethreal:''' This unit ignores rend when making save rolls. Considering high amounts of rend can be the defining feature of some of some models fighting ability not being able to get passed this guys 3+ save can proove to be very frustrating for your enemy meaning they will have to work hard to remove him from the board only to have him pop up again later on. '''The Foliate Shield:''' Grants a 6+ save after save against Wounds and M Wounds. Another ability that makes this unit potentially harder to remove from the board '''Summoning:''' MUST be summoned onto the field by rolling a 4 or more (No Wizard required) if you fail this roll at any point you can simply try again next turn. When he is summoned he is revived with all of his wounds restored General Tactics: Since he is essentialy immortal you can worry about him a whole lot less. However allowing him to be killed because you know you can bring him back can potentially be a waste so you should try your best to make the most out of him before he is slain. His shield and ethreal abilites make him harder to remove from the board than a unit of his size should be. Also while his offensive stats are nothing special they can still elminate warmachines and greatly damage heros. Meaning that the enemy has a frustrating decision to make. Try and ignore him and concentrate there efforts on the rest of your forces but run the risk of the green knight doing some serious damage or Make the effort to take him off the board only to have him try it all over again next turn. To sum up this guy is a great distracting thorn in the enemys side. However He is unlikely to have the power to tip the balance on his own so make sure YOu dont get distracted by him and concentrate on taking advantage of the diversion. '''''The Fay Enchantress''''' '''Heros''' '''''Bretonnian Lord''''' Your standard general/Hero unit. Can be quite deadly in combat particularly against monsters and will help ensure that your knights get themselves into combat. Even if you have used Louen as your general these guys make a great spearhead for your knight regiments. '''Courage of Bretonni:''' Whenerver a Nobility model flees within 10" on a roll of 4 he dosent run. A useful ability for keeping down your knights casualties. While it might seem to be made a little redundent by Louens ability to prevent all battleshock it provides a alternative if you arent fielding him and means that hope is not lost should Louen snuff it. '''Dragonbane Lance:''' Adds 1 to wounds rolls if he charged and allows you ro re roll hits against monsters. The standard charging buff of this army with a little added extra against monsters only serves to add to this units effectiveness as a monster slayer. '''Ducal Shield:''' re roll saves of 1 if he charged the same turn (Combat only) standard save buff for charging in this army. ever little helps. '''Command ability - Lord of the Realm:''' Allows this unit and any nobility units within 15" to re roll charge rolls. Annoyingly thisis a command ability and therefore you may have to sacrifice the buff that louen brings in order to use it. however it is still a useful ability as it will help you cover your back against the dreaded snake eyes when charging which can be truelly devastating for this army '''General Tactics:''' The bretonnian lord should not be underestimated in combat as he pack a wallop for a small unit and can take a fair amount in return. Ideally it is best to keep him close to your other cavalry units so that the enemy is less likely to single him out, It should be noted as well that yu can mount this guy on a pegasus allowing you to use him as a fast moving anti monster unit for your army. Also since there are many other buffs within the bretonnian army for charging its not the end of the world he he does get killed.A solid choice for any army. '''''Damsel''''' A decidedly below average spell caster unit with the ability to cast a save after save spell on your army as wekk as healing a single wound to nearby models each turn. While these abilites have there uses this really is a bare bones spell caster. '''Aura of the Lady''': Heals a free people model within 6" for 1 wound. Not overly useful for massed units but can help with the durability of your heros if escorted by one. Magic Can cast and unbind 1 spell per turn '''Blessing of the lady:''' Casting on a 5+ this grants a free people unit a 6+ save after save. you can however add 1 to the result if the target is a Nobility model making it slightly more worthwhile and should proberbly be used with your largest knight regiment. '''General Tactics:''' This unit only tends to make a subtle difference to your army but as your standard defence against magic it is a good idea to take one along. Keep her close to a hero escort and use her to either buff units with either mystic shield (turning your heros 3+ save to a 2+ can often be satisfying) or her Blessing of the lady variant. its up to you. Also if the battle turns you can always just have her start throwing Arane bolts at the enemy. Let us not forget that she can also be mounted on either a horse or pegasus turns her into a mobile support option. '''''Paladin Standard Bearer''''' The bretonnian Totem. Has a realativly good statline for a secondary hero. Also he is useful for making use of the PALADIN key word which can aid some of your peasant forces. '''The Grail Banner:''' +1 to bravery of all Peasant and Nobility units within 15".Also if this unit slays a monster or Hero they dont have to take battleshock for the rest of the game.Works almost like a suped up version of a standard squad standard bearer in the sense that is buffs bravery and prevents battleshock. Can be rendered a little redundent if you already have Buffs that prevent battleshock but if not then it may just be worth sending one of these guys in to pick of the softest hero you can find even if he dies in the process. just so you can kick back and forget about battleshock for the rest of the game. '''Follow me to Glory!:''' Allows all Nobility units visible to the banner to re roll charges if this unit makes a succesful charge in the same turn. Since the Brets are already heaped with buffs that improve there charging ability this may same like throwing a small stone into a large pond.However if you already plan use your Paladin in combat at any point it is one extra bonus that should affect all your knights on all but the most sceneray packed terrain. '''General Tactics:''' Wards of battleshock and can hold his own in a fight. At first this unit seems to only improve strengths rather than addres the armies weaknesses. However he can have a positive effect on Peasant units due to synergy both improving there hit rate and bravery(Shown on there warscrolls not his) Not as effective as the on foot Paladin but it still improves some otherwise weak units.So you can either have him fight for the peasants or alongside the nobility its up to you. '''''Paladin''''' A hero killer. Not as durable as some of the mounted options but packs a wallop when up against hero or monsters. also buffs peasants slightly through synergy. '''Paladin's Shield:''' Adds 1 to save roll if he did not charge that turn. A fairly average ability but helps bring his save to a nice 3+ if you can tempt the enemy hero to engage you. '''Heroic blow:''' Instead of normal attacks make a single attack that if successful inflicts D6 mortal wounds. A bit of a gamble as your trading a potential 12 saveble wounds for a potential 6 Mortal wounds when you take into account the odds it only works slightly in your favor unless you can throw some buffs his way that may help guarantee the blow lands. '''General Tactics:''' A true secondary hero model. Other than a little synergy dosent have a massive impact on your army so you can send them into combat with the enemies nasty units knowing that your army wont suffer greatly as a result of there death. Either stick this guy near some peasantry or use him as a "Emperors Chamption" type unit and use 1 or two of these to soften up enemy heros. '''Infantry''' '''''Peasant Bowmen''''' There statline can seem alarmingly poor. but these guys are 1 of only 2 ranged units in this army. also they have a special abilitiy that if fielded in a large group can make them one of the deadliest units in the game! '''Relic Bearer:'''Allows the unit to unbind 1 spell like a wizard. an alternative option to the bravery buffing standard bearer. Now bringing these guys into close combat regardless of bravery would be an incredibly stupid move. Therefore assuming you desire to keep them well out of harms way the Bravery Buff (That only works with a hero nearby anyway) is kinda pointless. So i would alwyas go for this option. having such a base unit that can stop spells can be incredibly useful. '''Stakes:''' placed within an an 1" of the unit and as many as you like!. If a unit finishes a charge within 1" of these stakes roll a dice for each one and on a sic they suffer a mortal wound. You are unlikely to make more than a couple of kills with these things so you should in no way allow the enemy to charge you because of these. However they may just serve as a deterant to keep your opponent from taking the risk. '''Burning Braziers:''' allows you to re roll wounds of 1 if they have burning Braziers. On the face of it its a realativly meh ability but every little helps. This ability can however greatly increase the effectiveness of the Arrowstorm ability '''Virtue of Empathy:''' Add 1 to hit rolls if there is a Paladin within 8". Considering the number you want to field these guys in this is definatly worth while as it brings the archers statline into line with a 'Average' Group of archers. Again its also useful to help with the arrowstorm ability. '''Arrowstorm:''' once per battle triple the number of attacks made by the bows or Quardrple if they have 20+ units . . . . .So . . . if you have a group of 20 archers those shots go from 20 to 80 (and remember you can field them in much larger groups) This can potentially wipe out whole squads or even the most powerful enemies in the game. Get ready to borrow some dice!. HOWEVER it should be noted that this ability will not work if the enemy is within 3" and even eith 80+ dice rolls the odds are that you might not gain that many succesful wounds after all is said and done (Ive rolled 80 dice and done 4 wounds to a target . . .) Its an incredible ability but dont pin all your hopes on it. '''''Men at Arms''''' Chaff units. These units a quite weak and the general buffs can potentially make them deal a fair amount of damage but im afraid they wont stand up to match when its the opponents turn sto strike. However they can proove to be an integral part of your army both as Chaff defence as well as distractions to help your knights. '''Relic Bearer:''' Allows the unit to attempt to unbind a spell. Comes in handy for the same reasons as stated above for the peasent bowmen. '''Rowdy Mob:''' +1 to hits for a unit of 20+ or 2+ to hits for a unit of 30+. All in all if you field this guys in large enough groups they can become half decent soldiers. however if you playing to any sort of balancing system such as wounds its an awful lot on units for not a huge amount of benefit. '''Tower Shields:''' + 1 to saves if the unit didnt charge the same turn. This is sorely needed considering these guys only have a 6+ save. Should make the point that you should avoid charging with these guys unless its part of a grander strategy. '''Virtue of empathy:''' +1to hit rolls while within 8" of a Paladin. This combined with the rowdy Mob ability means that this unit could potentially be rolling a 2+ to hit. With a unit of 30+ models able to attack in two rows (2" range) this could result in a painful attack for your opponent. '''General Tactics:''' All in all these guys can be buffed up to the point where they have a decent offensive statline. Also units that prevent Battleshock will make up for this units terrible bravery characteristic. The real problem with the men at arms is there terrible Save stat which you would need to expend your precious mystic shields to buff to a reasonable level. In all honesty they are just not worth the effort it takes to make them powerful and your better off using your spells on your knightd and heros. However they are still an important part of your army as they can act as a defensive measure for your vunerble units such as your bowmen and/or Damsels. Another use for this unit and perhaps the most beneficial is to use them as a meat shield to tie up any units that may try to pursue your knights as they attempt to retreat and re charge as they pose a large enough threat that if the enemy opts to ignore them they will likely find themselves caught and crushed between the units there pursueing and the rowdy mob they ignored. '''''Battle Pilgrims''''' '''Cavalry''' '''''Mounted Yeomen''''' '''''Knights of the Realm''''' These guys are what playing Bretonnians is all about and are the face of this army. On there own they have decent armor and Statlines but once these guys start charging along with a few key buffs they can decimate entire units. Just dont let them get tied up in combat for to long. Virtue of Knightly Temper: Grant a 1+ to bravery when close to any free people hero. As with most other units this ability can be superceded by many other abilities but failing this it helps minimize your loses during the battleshock phase. Massed Cavalry: each model can make an extra attack if the unit contains 10 + models. This ability effectively doubles the deadliness of you knights meaning along with your horses attacks each model will attck 4 times resulting in 41 (extra for the leader) initial dice rolls for only 10 knights. These should encourage you to field these guys in a large unit. Lances: and 1 to the wound rolls and damage if this unit charged on the same turn. Now we start to see the charging theme some into play bringing each knights statline to a 3+ hit 3+ wound each doing two damage. This along with the Massed cavalry ability means a potential 4 wounds of damage per knight(and thats without the horses attacks) Keep them charging! Heraldic Shields: Add 1 to the save rolls if theu charged on the same turn. Bringing your knights save down to a 3+. not bad for a 'basic' cavalry unit. This along with perhaps a mystic shield means that you can potentially end your turn with minimal casualties to this unit. and, if you win prioity, you may be able to pull them out of combat before the enemy can even attack back. General Tactics: These guys need to charge. Plan and simple. They gain a fair bit of power without any help froma charge but can be improved even more with a little external help from units like Louen leoncour. However most of the buffs you will find in this army rely on charging. Therefore after that intial glorious charge be prepared to watch the power flood out of them. to this end you need to make a tactical retreat as soon as you are able,even if you are certain you can finish of the remnants of an enemy unit as staying in combat gives the enemya chance to charge into you with another unit robbing you of your charging bonus. This is where the Men at Arms units come in to mop up and cover your escape. Also bare in mind that an average game lasts for four rounds this means that unless you manage to wipe an unit out to a man and are not engaged by anyone else you will only get 2 charges in the entire game. so pick and choose your targets for maximum effectiveness. '''''Knights Errant''''' These guys are similar in many ways to the knights of the realm with a marginally lower statline for the chance to re roll hits.The same general strategy applies however. Charge! Eager to Impress: Re roll failed hit rolls of 1 if within 18" of a damsel or all hit rolls if the unit also has 10 + units. Serves to balance up these guys with the knights of the realm. Means the average wound count is slightly higher however this unit only gets one attack with there lances Lances: Can add 1 to wound and damage if the unit charged this turn. Same implications as Knights of the realm Heraldic Shields: Can add 1 to saves if unit charged in the same turn. Same implications as knights of the realm General Tactics: Ultimately it is a matter of opponion between these guys and the knights of the realm. however i would stress that these guys have a lower statline, lower Bravery, Attack only once, and there saving grace does rely on a external buff. for this reason i would choose Knights of the Realm. But its up to you. '''''Questing Knights''''' '''''Grail Knights''''' At first glance it may seem that the fabled so called demi god Grail knights statline is only slightly more powerful than a regular knight of the realm. and thats not to mention the 1" range instead of 2 but with only a few buffs these guys can tear through all but the strongest enemy units. '''Grail Shields''': add 1 to save rolls if this unit charged the same turn. Standard Brettonian knights shields benefits these guys in the same way as regular knights. However if you have a fay enchantress nearby get her to aid a mystic shield and there Save drops to a 2+. '''Lances:''' Add 1 to the wounds and damage of this unit if they charged the same turn. SInce these guys already have 2 attacks your looking at 3 attacks each rolling on 3 for both hit and wounds along with the -1 rend that already makes them quite hard hitting. '''The Grail Vow:''' A joke rule but a worthwhile one (If you and your opponent dont go for that sort of thing you can always roll a dice use this ability on a 4+. or something like that) Hold aloft a grail/goblet and shout for the lady in a heroic voice. What do you get for your troubles? A re roll for all failed hit rolls and that includes the horses. can definatly come in handy. '''Fay Enchantress:''' Not an ability but a unit that can really supe up these guys to ridiculous levels. First up she has a Grail knights only ability that allows them to re roll all failed hit rolls. This coupled with the Grail vow allows you to re roll all failed hits twice for both the knights and there mounts. Secondly she is a mage that can cast two spells at a time. One of which (Favor of the Lady) grants a + 2 to all hit rolls for nobility (or +1 for everyone else) making most of the knights in your army Auto hits. This does render the former buff kind of pointless so you may want to either cast it on a different set of knights or throw two mystic shields at them instead. '''General Tactics:''' Better than average knights who gain a whole lot when paired up with a fay enchantress. dont under estimate there - 1 rend as this can increase your successful wound count dramatically. A worth fielding if you have them but bare inmind your unlikely to field them in such great numbers so you may feel that quantity (Knigths of the realm) out ways the quality that these guys bring however just remember that with the help of a fay enchantress these guys can become either auto hitting or indestrucble during the phase they charge in. Also just 5 of these guys have a potential wounding count of 25. '''''Pegasus Knights''''' '''Warmachines''' '''''Trebuchet''''' =